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Careless hunters taking aim at moose

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Reporting violations

• Anyone with information about illegal hunting activity can contact the local district wildlife manager, enforcement agency or Operation Game Thief toll-free at 877-COLO-OGT (877-265-6648). Callers may remain anonymous.

Wildlife identification composes a large part of the state’s Hunter Education course, Velarde said, as well being sure of your target before pulling the trigger.

Among the egregious cases this fall are two elk hunters who mistakenly shot bull moose, which look nothing like bull elk.

One of those hunters, who left his moose fatally wounded and did not report his infraction for four days, is facing charges that could bring more than $14,000 in fines and the certainty of a license suspension hearing, the DOW said.

“If a guy mistakenly shoots a moose and reports it to us, we’ll take a bit easier on him,” Velarde said. “We want to let people know they can turn themselves in and face reduced charges. We don’t want the moose to go to waste.

“But if they shoot a moose, leave it and don’t tell us, we’ll throw the book at them.”

Division regulations say abandonment of a carcass could bring felony charges, jail time and the permanent loss of hunting privileges in Colorado and 34 other states that participate in the Wildlife Violator Compact.

Because moose are relatively rare (there are around 1,500 in Colorado), hunting licenses for them are very restricted.

This year, Colorado will issue more than 225,000 elk licenses but only 154 moose licenses. The lifetime bag limit for bull moose in Colorado is one.

“Moose hunting in Colorado is literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Velarde said. “Every moose that a careless or negligent hunter kills is a hunt denied to someone else.”

The third deer and elk hunting season runs Saturday through Nov. 14, with the final season running Nov. 17-21.